There are three types of interview questions that all job seekers should be prepared to answer. Here are tips to prepare an answer for all three – behavioural, situational and standard interview questions.
Behavioural Interview Questions
Behavioural interview questions are based on the idea that your past behaviour predicts your future performance. The interviewer will ask you a behavioural interview question to find out how you responded to situations in the past. Then they will relate your answer to the requirements of the job you’re applying for.
Behavioural interview questions start with words like:
“Tell me about a time when you…” or “Give me an example of an occasion where you …”
When you’re faced with behavioural interview questions, take a moment to think about examples that relate to the job you’re applying for and then answer using the STAR technique, describing the Situation, Task, Action and Result.
- Situation – Describe the background of the example, to set the scene for the rest of your answer.
- Task – Describe the task in detail, relating it to the job you’re applying for wherever possible.
- Action – Describe the action you took to respond to the situation.
- Result – Describe the result of your action, ending on a positive note by advising of any long-term positive outcomes. This is also a good time to mention any commendations you received or positive comments that were made about your work on the project.
Situational Interview Questions
Situational interview questions ask job applicants to explain how they would respond to a hypothetical problem. They often relate to workplace conflict, interpersonal skills or making a decision between two difficult alternatives. Interviewers ask situational interview questions to get a deeper insight into your way of thinking, your problem solving and analytical skills, your knowledge of technical aspects of the job and your ability to handle situations involving other staff members.
Situational interview questions start with words like:
“What would you do if…?” “How would you handle a situation where…?” If you’ve handled a similar situation in the past, use that in your answer. If you don’t have an example, frame your answer towards a win-win situation. In both cases use the situational interview question as an opportunity to demonstrate your analytical and problem solving skills, and your ability to find positive solutions to complex problems.
Standard interview questions
Standard interview questions come up in just about every job interview. They are amongst the most dreaded interview questions, although they’re often meant as ice breakers, to ease into the interview.
Standard interview questions include:
“Tell me about yourself” and “Tell me more about your experience…”.
The key to answering standard interview questions effectively is to sell yourself by explaining the unique value you can bring to the employer. Be specific, use facts and figures to support your claim and start with your most impressive professional achievement.
For example, an accountant could start off by saying, “I’m a management accountant with twenty years’ experience, and particular strengths in streamlining accounting processes to increase efficiencies. In fact, a system I designed and implemented for my current employer saved over $100,000 in expenses last year and cut reporting time in half.” Leading with your achievements will make you stand out from the crowd, will engage the interviewer and will set a positive tone for the rest of the interview. After selling yourself by leading with your strongest achievement, you can discuss the parts of your career history that are relevant to the job, your skills, qualifications and other professional achievements that present you in a positive light. Because so many people find the ”tell me about yourself” question difficult to answer, along with my colleagues Karalyn Brown and Deobarah Barit, I’ve developed an app to help out! myPitch has easy instructions, sample answers and lets you film and replay your pitch until you get it perfect. Click here to find out more. If you’d like more information about answering tricky interview questions, visit this article by Fiona Smith of the Business Review weekly, which gives great advice on answering:
- Tell me about yourself.
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
- Tell me about your strengths and weaknessess.
- Tell me about a time where you made a mistake.
- Why should we hire you?
